I think they should cut off all group stage matches . Simple elimination round with third placed CL teams . So tournament should kick the gear later around the January . That way teams also won't suffer in their domestic leagues .

Just look at fixtures right now . Pathetic matches that only fans of those clubs will care and still not even all of them .

Money and a miracle :P

less team, better team ,games on tuesday or monday.get more money for winning,team from champion league join dont join europe league

They should remove all group stage matches, increase the match fees and reward prices, and decrease the number of competitors. Less of the crappy teams and more of the quality teams.

they should make the prize more expensive, after that top teams would want to play in europa league instead of champions league lol

remember when platini suggested to merge the europa league with the champions league ! what do you think

They already decide to give the champion a spot in the UCL. And I dont think giving away more money for each match or fase would increase the attractiveness for the people watching.

I dont have anything against the EL it is jut that it'll be always portrayed as the 2nd tire Champions League and that is something very hard to overcome. I actually like the Europa League but dont watch it that often because there are not many teams I follow in the competition right now.

Reducing the amount of teams or getting rid of the group stage are unrealistic options as the point of this tournament is to have as many teams as possible from all around Europe.

To make it more interesting it would have to completely change its format. Maybe make it an actual league as many have suggested for the CL.

@Enjoyneer

That's actually a good idea. If we merge the Europa league with the Champions League, I'm so sure that there will be more upsets showing, which is similarly to how the FA Cup and Capitol One cups always shows; upsets = entertainment. But then again, two is always better than one, and it'll maximize profits, even if merging the two league together would be a more entertaining option.

IF you merge them you have to face another problem like there won't be other champions but top 10 teams in Europe . I think last time we saw underdog team to win European title was back in 2004 . They all crush out somewhere before or at the quarterfinal .

Give the CL spot to both finalists and the 3 rd team winning the little final. Money for the winner as well, EL anyway remains for 5th-8th teams so its an excitement for midle level teams, i find it attractive to watch.

I like the Europa league because it allows me to see teams that I wouldn't see otherwise.

Places like England who have their teams in the competition don't really need money, but many other Europa league participants do. If you make the competition more attractive to clubs, they'll field better teams, and therefore draw more fans.

The problem with the Europa league is that it is a second-tier tournament, which automatically lowers its appeal. It's not like if you win the thing you set the world on fire either, Sevilla won it last year and this year, well, the less said the better. I don't see a way you can change that without merging the Champions league with Europa.

On the other hands, the CL is the CHAMPIONS league, so do Europa league participants really belong there? I would say no.

I have no solutions for this.

Everyone here agrees about "Second Tier" label . That is what degrades the Europa League .

Remember it was more appealing before it became Europa league . Many top teams wanted to win it .

@sunflash raised the good a point

Champions League used to be Champions only league , but now we have mixing pot of well placed teams in their domestic leagues who were given more than one CL spot . At least before teams who qualified into UEFA cup knew that there are top teams who will compete for this trophy .

I think we should go back to original format and then give more importance to UEFA Super Cup which will determine ultimate champion of Europe . Teams will fight harder to get to Super cup .

@Dyna Increase match fees? All match fees should go enormously down to attract the real working class lads who are actually passionate about their club and not just sits on their ass updating their phones and eating bagels.